The Howling Dark
by Tagg260
Summary: Ritter's life has been anything but happy. Just when it seemed to be going right, a single man ended it all. Now, a truly unexpected encounter puts him in the company of another damaged soul, someone who may be the key to finding vengeance.
1. 1: Fate's Twisted Methods

Chapter 1

The weather was dark and stormy in the skies of northeastern Johto. Though less than ideal for high-altitude flight, a small jetliner braved the gauntlet of thick, black rain-clouds The plane was largely unoccupied save for the flight crew and a handful of passengers. As the pilot and co-pilot cursed under their breath while navigating the freak storm, the sole flight attendant made one last round to see if the passengers had any needs before she called it a night.

Thankfully, the passengers were as tired as she was, so there wasn't a lot that needed doing. The one request she did have was a quick question regarding when their time of arrival might be. After informing the passenger that it should be some time in the late morning she asked if he needed anything else, and after receiving a "no, thank you" she hurried back to her seat for some much needed rest.

The one who questioned her shifted back into his seat. He was a boy somewhere in his mid to late teens; slight of build, and with thick, dark hair. His manner of dress was fairly simple, consisting of jeans, hiking boots, a well-worn leather jacket over a white T-shirt, and a black baseball cap adorned with a pair of go-goggles, overall, nothing to make him stand out much from the crowd. A quick glance back informed him that he was one of the only passengers still awake, the other being a middle-aged mustached man whose dark clothing made him hard to make out in the back of the cabin.

With nothing to distract him, the boy looked out his window to the tumultuous weather outside and contemplated the events of the day. He had been in Johto for the funeral of his best and oldest friend: Allie, a Jolteon. While neither was native to the region, Johto had always been the Pokémon's favorite place they visited during their journeys, and the boy felt the beautiful view surrounding Greenfield was a suitable resting place for his faithful partner.

He still remembered that fateful day. It was a week after they had returned home to Sinnoh from their journeys around the different regions. They had been walking down path 215 when a rough looking trainer stepped out looking for a battle. Not being worried about the outcome, the boy sent Allie to duel with the Sandslash the stranger had brought out.

Despite the type disadvantage, the feisty Jolteon was holding her own against her opponent. Right when victory had seemed imminent, however, the other trainer ordered his Sandslash to "stop screwing off and _finish _it." The Sandslash leapt at Allie, pinning her as it stabbed her with its sharp claws and began pumping poison into her blood stream. Too late the Jolteon's trainer realized the Sandslash was injecting way more poison than it needed to subdue his Pokémon. He ran forward and kicked the oversized rodent off of the writhing Jolteon and began yelling at the Sandslash's owner for using such a poor choice of words. The unscrupulous trainer merely laughed however, indicating that this incident was more than just the Sandslash misinterpreting its trainer, before he recalled his Pokémon and walked off.

The boy's mind raced as he watched his Pokémon grow feebler by the second, the blood spilling from her wound tainted with a deep purple. He didn't have anything that could save his Jolteon so her only hope was a Pokécenter. The trainer scooped up Allie in his arms and began running full-pelt towards Veilstone City, the closest town for miles.

He could feel Allie get weaker and weaker as he raced down Route 215, His concern for his partner distracting him, causing his foot to catch on something and he fell, hard. He had not lost hold of Allie, miraculously, but he was still a mile out of town, and he knew that the Sandslash's venom was working too fast. Fighting back tears, he tried to tell his friend how sorry he was; that it was all his fault and he had failed her. She gazed back at him, then, using the last of her strength, reacted up to nuzzle his cheek one last time…

The now former trainer was jerked back from his bitter memories when the plane started to shake violently. The pilot came over the loudspeaker saying that they had hit a very rough patch of turbulence, but was cut off by a loud tearing sound. The boy looked out the window just in time to see the right wing of the plane rip itself in half. The jet began to tumble drunkenly through the air, the screams of the passengers drowned out by the sound of wrenching metal. The boy had the presence of mind to buckle his seatbelt and curl up as tightly as possible. Suddenly, a massive screech pierced his ears as the rear part of the plane was tore off, now all he heard was the roar of the wind as the forward part of the jet hurtled towards the ground. The boy screwed his eyes shut and braced himself for being reunited with his Jolteon.

He slowly opened his eyes, and found himself hanging upside down from his seat belt. He did not remember the crash, but a sore chest and the early dawn light suggested that the force of the landing had knocked him out for quite some time. He took a moment to take stock of his surroundings; there was no sound except for the creaking of the plane as it settled, and a soft wind in the distance. The cockpit was replaced with a ragged hole facing a steep rock wall, there was no sign of the pilot or co-pilot, likewise, what was left of the cabin was empty as he had been the only passenger near the front of the plane.

He was about to reflect on how lucky it was that he'd not asked for a seat in the rear as he normally did, when something caused him to question whether that decision had just delayed his fate. He heard a set of heavy footsteps that caused the ground to shake slightly with every stride. They continued to grow nearer until they stopped just behind where the boy hung from his seat. He held his breath, trying not to make any sound. He wasn't sure what kind of Pokémon was outside the plane wreck, just that it was more than capable of tearing him apart.

He could hear low, heavy breathing as he imagined his visitor examining the strange object it had found. Then there was a quick grunt before the plane began to move. Apparently, the Pokémon was trying to lift the fuselage. The young man couldn't help but cry out as he and the plane suddenly lurched upward. Suddenly everything stopped for a second, even the breathing of the unknown Pokémon was gone. He silently cursed himself as he hung there before the Pokémon began shifting the plane to investigate the strange sound. The boy prayed fervently to no one in particular that it wasn't a very territorial Pokémon, but was thoroughly disappointed when he found himself looking through the window into the face of a very perplexed Aggron.

Its expression went from confusion to anger upon discovering an intruder in its territory. It was probably responsible for damaging the landscape with this giant metal tube too! The Aggron let out a savage roar provoking the boy to scream back in terror. The boy desperately fumbled with the seat belt, succeeding just before the Aggron's metal claws punched through the window. The boy hit the ground hard causing his various injuries from the crash to scream, but he didn't waste time scrambling to his feet as the enraged steel Pokémon struggled to free its arm.

He ran out of the wreckage of the plane and found himself just inches from a sharp drop-off; the plane had been just feet from sliding off a 60-foot cliff along with its unconscious passenger. The boy whirled around when he heard the Aggron tear free, as a sphere of light formed in its open maw. The former trainer dodged aside as the Flash Cannon that would have ripped off his head soared off toward the early sunrise. He ran as fast as he could on the narrow ledge but stumbled and hit his head on a less than conveniently placed rock. He tried to pick himself up but the blow to the head, along with all the other trauma he'd experienced recently, made him woozy.

The Aggron strode slowly over to his prey, seeing that he was incapable of fleeing. The boy rolled onto his back, struggling to stay awake he propped himself up against the rock. Seeing no hope of escape he resigned himself to his fate. Just before he blacked-out he saw a sphere of blue energy collide with the Aggron's head, staggering it and eliciting a roar of pain from the massive metal beast. The last thing he saw was a blue and yellow blur racing past him towards the raging monster.

The young trainer slowly opened his eyes to find stony walls filling his vision. Whether he was dead or not, he really hoped that waking up, aching all over and finding himself in an unfamiliar place wouldn't become the norm. His chest was still sore from the crash, he still hadn't checked how bad of shape he was in, and now his forehead throbbed dully from hitting that rock. He gingerly reached up and felt the wound, there was a slight twinge of pain, but he only felt a little dried blood… and bandages. Someone obviously had giving him some form of medical care, and was probably also responsible for moving him.

He sat upright to better take in his new surroundings; there was no sign of his 'guardian angel' and he appeared to be a good ways into a fair sized cave. A couple dozen feet to his side was the entrance, through which he could see that it was somewhere in the late afternoon. He cradled his head in his hands and tried to think through his situation. He figured that he was still alive (although, considering recent events, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing) and someone had obviously saved him from the Aggron.

Reviewing the events of the previous night; he was unable to recollect evidence that there had been anyone else in the wreckage of the jet, and he doubted a human, even an armed one, could have stood down that steel monster. He then remembered the sphere of light and the blue figure he had seen before he blacked out. As he began ponder who, or what, that might have been, he was suddenly interrupted.

_'So you're finally awake.'_

The boy gasped. He wasn't sure what shocked him the most; the realization that he wasn't alone in this cave, or the fact that he had heard the voice _in his mind_.

"Who's there?" He called out as he looked all around him, trying not to let his voice shake.

_'I'm impressed,'_ the mind-voice replied, completely ignoring his question, _'Not only did you live through falling out of the sky in that steel tube, but you also survived being attacked by another, much more violent hunk of metal.' _

The boy heard soft footsteps coming from the back of the cave. He turned and stood up to face whatever was approaching him. He could start to make out the figure as it came out of the darkness in the back of the cave. It appeared canine-like in form, almost like a jackal, yet it walked on two legs. There seemed to be something sparkling on its hands and in the center of its chest.

_ 'To top it off, you don't even show the slightest signs of shock. Most humans wouldn't be able to handle all you did without some sort of mental trauma as well.' _

As more light reached the strange Pokémon, he could see that it was predominately blue in color save for a light-yellow mid-section and black paws and 'hands', and that the 'sparkling' he noticed earlier was from a pair of metal spikes on the back of its hands with a third jutting out over where its heart would be. The creature had piercing scarlet eyes, framed by a black 'bandit mask' that wrapped around its head and between its long, upright ears. Probably its most curious feature, however, were the dual pairs of appendages that hung off the back of its head below the ears.

'_So tell me, human, was I right in coming to your aid? Or should I have let the Aggron rip you limb from limb?' _the Lucario asked in a perfectly even tone.

It stopped a few feet away for him and crossed its arms. The former trainer chose his words carefully. Although slightly smaller than he was, he knew Lucario were rare and incredibly powerful Pokémon. Plus, anything that could best a full-grown Aggron and come out unscathed deserved some respect.

"Maybe you could tell me, Lucario," A ghost of a smile flashed across the Pokémon's face. This human had some spunk. "Isn't your kind known for its strong sense of justice? Surely you wouldn't help someone you considered unworthy."

_'Very astute, I sensed nothing in your aura that suggested you did not deserve aid. But, I am not so presumptuous as to assume my readings are always correct. So I ask you again, human, was I correct in saving you?'_

"If you're worried that I'll try to catch you, don't worry, I don't have any Pokéballs on me." The boy sighed, "My days as a trainer are behind me anyway."

The Lucario picked up the slight tinge of sadness in the boy's voice, and there was nothing in his aura that suggested that what he said, or that this unintentional display of emotion, wasn't genuine.

_'I suppose that will do.'_ It replied after a short span of silence. Without another word, the Pokémon turned and walked further into the cave. A few moments later, it returned and tossed something at the boy's feet, he realized it was his old backpack. He bent down to see how well it had survived the crash.

_'I found that amongst the wreckage. It had your scent, so I figured must belong to you.'_ It began walking towards the cave's exit. _'Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to find something to eat before it grows dark.'_ And with that, the Lucario sprinted and leapt out of the cave.

The boy just shook his head, and, with a bit more effort than he would have liked, sat down and began examining the contents of his pack for damage; trying to make sense of everything that had happened.

The Lucario was perched high in a tree well within sight of the cave. He watched as the human boy rummaged through his bag, taking out something and fiddling with it every now and then. He had not lied to the human when he said he couldn't completely trust his readings of one's aura. But at the very least, it didn't appear that the boy would be much of a hindrance. The Pokémon's thoughts were interrupted by the scent of something alive, afraid and tasty crossing his nose. He decided that for now he could trust this human, and leapt down from his perch after his would-be meal.


	2. 2: Getting Aquainted

Chapter 2

It was almost dusk by the time the Lucario returned. The former trainer jumped slightly at its sudden arrival.

"I didn't think you'd actually come back." The boy said.

'_If you knew how hard it is to find shelter as good as this, you'd understand.'_

The boy just shrugged and went back to what he had been doing as the Pokémon laid down the carcass of a Sawsbuck it had been carrying and began. He had finish going through his backpack and found that most of his equipment was more-or-less intact. Well, almost everything. He picked up the crumpled form of his Pokénav, not even bothering to see if it would turn on. With it, he would have been able to know all kinds of useful information; what the weather forecast was like, the closet source of water, _where he was_. At the very least, he could've called his family to let them know he was alright. But now all it was good for was an ugly paper weight.

Frustrated, he threw the broken device out of the cave and listened to it bounce down the mountain. This distracted his companion from its meal. After deciding it wasn't missing anything, it returned its focus to the Sawsbuck leg it'd been eating. After a while the boy tried to break the silence.

"How can you eat raw meat like that? It seems like it would taste absolutely horrible."

The Lucario stopped mid-bite and stared at the trainer confusedly.

_'. . . raw?'_

"Yeah, you know, not cooked?" The Pokémon just looked at him like he was an idiot. "You know what cooked is, right?" After no sign of understanding from the Lucario, he decided to try a different approach. "I can show you if you want; you just need to get me some wood." The Lucario narrowed its eyes, trying to figure out if this was just an elaborate trick to steal his food.

"Oh come on, it won't take but a minute. Your Sawsbuck will still be here when you get back." The Pokémon just sat there for a while before reluctantly it got up and left. A few minutes later, it returned with an armload of wood and dropped it in front of the human.

_'Alright, now show me what this "cooking" is.'_

"Sure, just hold on, this'll take a while."

The Lucario stood and watched as the human sorted through the pile of wood, eventually building a sort of pile with some of the smaller pieces. He then pulled something out of his bag and suddenly a small flame appeared it the boy's hand. Wide-eyed, the Lucario asked, '_How did you do that? I thought only Pokémon had such abilities!'_

"Huh? Oh you must mean my lighter." The boy chuckled and held out the object he had taken from his bag earlier. "It's just a device humans use to light fires. We build all kinds of things to make up for our lack of natural abilities." The Pokémon seemed entranced by the tiny, dancing flame.

_'Is that what that big metal tube was? A "device" of some kind?'_

The boy thought for a second before realizing what the Lucario meant. "Oh, yeah. That was part of what's called a plane. They're used to fly people from place to place quickly." The Lucario looked at him.

_'Fly? That thing could fly?'_

"Pretty fast, too." The boy said, returning to building the fire. His furred companion sat down, bewildered at what something as fragile and weak as humans were could accomplish. Soon, the boy had a good size fire going. They both just sat and looked into it until a thought crossed the boy's mind.

"Say, do you think this will attract any predators or something?"

The Pokémon shook its head. _'No, Aggron are pretty good about keeping other Pokémon off their mountains. And it'll be a while before other Pokémon start to show up.'_

"Wait, did you _kill_ that Aggron?"

_'No, I just drove it off the ledge.' _The Lucario chuckled, _'It got its horns stuck in the ground. You should have seen how absurd it was, seeing that arrogant lump of iron doing a headstand.'_

The young trainer couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, I'll bet. Won't it come after us eventually though?"

_'Normally yes, but after being so thoroughly embarrassed I'd be surprised if it ever showed its face around these mountains around here again. It will probably go find somewhere else to live.'_

The boy nodded. He kinda felt bad about driving the Pokémon from its home, especially because it had only been defending that home. Still, he was glad he was alive, so he didn't let it bother him unduly. He looked over at the Lucario and noticed a faint glimmer near its wrist. It looked like a tiny cutlass, no more than three inches long, made of some dark, dull metal. He then noticed the chain it hung from made from the same strange metal. He mistook it for a bracelet, but closer soon he noticed the chain was tightly wound about an ich down the Pokémon's arm, meaning it must be a necklace of some sort.

"Say, did you ever have a trainer at some point?"

_'No, you're the first human I've met, why?' _asked the Lucario, lookingat the boy.

"Just curious." He replied. He had to wonder how a Pokémon that had supposedly never met a human had acquired such an obviously man-made item. The rumbling of his stomach reminded him why he'd built the fire in the first place, so he put the matter to the side and took his knife out to sharpen a stick. "Hey, drag the carcass over here and tear off a small chunk, would'ya?" After receiving a good-sized piece, he speared it with his stick and continued, "Humans aren't able to eat meat straight off the carcass like Pokémon can without getting really sick. So first we cook it, which is basically partially burning something." He held the stick so the meat was just over the flames. The Lucario looked at him quizzically.

_'How is that supposed to make it edible?' _

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't question it, I just know it words." The Pokémon nodded in agreement. "Anyway, the trick is in how long you cook it; not long enough and you might as well be eating it raw, too long and you ruin the food." By now, the Sawsbuck meat was a dark brown color, and made an aroma that had both the human's and Pokémon's mouths watering. "That's the main way you can tell if something's done cooking, by its smell," he said as he pulled it off the fire and examined it. Gingerly, the boy touched the meat to see how cool it was, then finally took a bite. "Mmm… man, ah tell yoo wat," he said with his mouth full. He swallowed so he could be understood, "I've never had Sawsbuck before, but that is really good!" He pulled the meat chunk off his stick and held it out to the Lucario. "Wanna try? It's your kill anyway."

The Pokémon looked at it uncertainly; the smell alone was almost too much for him. Finally, he reached out, and popped the morsel into his mouth. It was incredible. He closed his eyes and leaned back to better savor the intense flavor .The uncooked Sawsbuck had already been good, but this easily was one of the best things he ever tasted. Reluctantly, he came back to reality and looked right in the human's eyes.

_'We need more.'_

The human laughed and handed him the stick he'd used to make the last one. "Help yourself; I'll make another one for me."

They spent the rest of the evening roasting the Sawsbuck. At first, the Lucario had trouble with how long he held the meat in the fire, but his heightened sense of smell allowed him to quickly surpass his mentor. By the time the stars had fully come out they had managed to consume the entire Sawsbuck between the two of them. The boy put the last of the wood on the fire and they sat back and enjoyed the night.

_'So how did you even end up out here in the first place? Surely you didn't try to nearly get yourself killed?' _The Lucario asked with a hint of sarcasm in his mental-voice. The Boy began explain about the death of his Jolteon, and how he was on his way home when something had gone wrong resulting in the crash.

_'So that's what you meant when you said you used to be a trainer._'

"Yeah…" The boy replied. After a short, awkward silence he asked, "What about your history? I'm sure you have some interesting stories to tell."

_'There's… There's nothing worth talking about really." _The Pokémon replied hesitantly. The boy noticed the uncomfortable tone in his answer and didn't press the matter. For a while, all that could be heard was the crackling of the flames and the sounds of nocturnal Pokémon going about their business. Suddenly, the Lucario broke the near-stillness with a surprising question,

_'I've heard that humans give each other, and sometimes even their Pokémon, names right? So what's your name, Human?'_

The boy looked over at the Lucario, wonder what had prompted him to ask such a question. Eventually he responded,

"My name's Conner."

The Lucario nodded, _'A fine name, although I don't have much to judge that against, honestly.'_ They were both quiet for a while before Conner returned the question,

"What about you? Do Pokémon give each other names?"

_'Most of the time, no.' _

The boy nodded. Figuring their conversation was over; he shifted onto his side and prepared to go to sleep.

_'You can call me Ritter.'_

Conner froze, a million questions raced through his head. He looked over at his companion to resolve some of those questions, but the Lucario, Ritter, was facing away from him. Getting the message, Conner laid down to sleep himself, wondering just what this strange Pokémon was hiding from him.

n was hiding from him.


	3. 3: The Good, the Bad, and the Abused

Chapter 3

He was running; he wasn't sure where, but only that something very dear to him was in danger. He turned a corner and saw the ghostly image of someone he only saw in his dreams. He ran forward to warn the angelic figure, to protect it from the impending peril. Before he made it, however, he was knocked down and pinned by an unseen force. He looked up to see a monster descend toward the precious one. He cried out to warn it, to free himself from the overwhelming weight, but whatever held him down was too strong.

He could only watch in horror as the fiend attacked the precious one, laughing madly as it tore the radiant being into bloody pieces.

Ritter awoke with a sharp gasp. The knowledge that it had only been a bad dream did nothing to suppress the feelings of pain and helplessness he felt. Ritter sat up and forced himself to calm down. He didn't often have nightmares, but every time they always had this effect on him. He looked over at the human boy, Conner he had called himself, sprawled out near the other end of the cave. He hadn't been completely honest with him when he said he'd never encountered another human, but that one time was a memory Ritter did his best to suppress. He didn't feel it was fair to burden the boy with his problems anyway. He stood up and stretched, trying to plan his course of action for the day. He wanted to get moving soon, nothing would be accomplished from hanging around with the human all morning. That thought brought up another issue; the idea of leaving the boy to fend for himself out here did not sit well with Ritter. To the extent of his knowledge, humans were only slightly better off than a newborn Riolu when it came to surviving in the wilderness, being injured would only make things worse. In any case, though, Conner had been kind to him. Even if it was just as repayment for saving his life, Ritter detested repaying his kindness by abandoning him. As he pondered his predicament, Conner slowly came around. Sitting up and yawning, he turned to address the Pokémon.

"'Morning, uh, Ritter. Sleep well?"

'_Hm? Oh, yes thank you.'_

Conner got up and began rummaging through his bag. Thankfully, he was either tactful or forgetful enough not to bring up the past night's conversation. Pulling out a broken granola bar, he sat down and ate a paltry breakfast.

"Say," he managed to get out between mouthfuls, "Do you think you could point me towards the closest human settlement?"

'_Of course. I don't know where one is for certain, but I believe heading east would be your best bet.'_

"Alright, thanks. If I can find someone, even if it's just some hobo in a random cabin, I'll be one step closer to finding my way home."

Ritter was about to reply when he suddenly had an idea about what to do in his position, one that was so simple he couldn't believe he didn't think of it earlier. The more he pondered it, the more he saw the potential advantages of the course up action. He decided he had nothing to lose from trying it out.

'_When will you be ready to travel?'_

Conner looked up, surprise evident on his face. "What, you kicking me out or something?"

'_No, I'm just anxious to get going is all,'_Ritter replied as if it was obvious.

Conner looked even more shocked at his response.

"Wait, you're coming with me?"

'_Well I can't just leave you out here. You wouldn't last two days by yourself.'_

"Oh really? I'll have you know I'm a natural survivalist amongst humans," the boy stated with mock arrogance.

The Lucario smirked, _'And that's why I had to save your sorry butt from an angry Aggron, right? Forgive me, next time I shall allow you to demonstrate your skills.'_

Conner nodded smugly before dropping the act. "Thanks though, for everything. I'd just be a red smear if you hadn't shown up when you did.

The Pokémon nodded, _'Don't mention it. It's not like I had anything better to do anyway.'_ Conner couldn't tell if Ritter was joking about that last part or not. '_Anyway, do you think you'll be ready soon? I'd like to start moving as soon as possible.'_

Conner stuffed the rest of his breakfast into his mouth as he slung his bag onto his back. He noticed getting up didn't hurt nearly as much as it had the previous day.

"I can go now, it's not like I have anything out that I need to pack."

'_Right, let's get going then.'_

It was close to noon by the time the pair reached the forest at the base of the mountain. It took a while, but Ritter started to get used traveling slower. If he went at his normal speed, Conner would never be able to keep up. They still made good time, however, and the beating Conner took a couple days ago didn't seem to be hampering him. The two had been conversing intermittently, usually consisting of Conner asking about Ritter or their surroundings. He was careful never to ask anything too personal though.

"So you use the Aura to communicate with me then? I was wondering how a non-psychic type Pokémon was speaking in my mind."

Ritter wasn't exactly sure what a "psychic type" was, but he didn't press it at the moment. _'Yes, not all of my kind are capable of doing so, but I seem to be able to well enough.'_

"Okay." Conner thought for minute before posing another question, "But how am I able to understand you? Your spoken language is completely different than mine; shouldn't the same be true about the language of our thoughts?"

'_It would seem so. Maybe translation is just part of telepathy? I wouldn't know, if I ever meet an Alakazam or something similar I'll be sure to ask.'_Conner nodded and looked up to watch a pair of Treecko squabbling in a nearby tree.

Ritter was about to ask what Conner had meant earlier when a crash pierced the forest air. The pair froze; Ritter tried reaching out with the aura to pinpoint where the sound came from.

"Should we see what that was?"

'_It wouldn't hurt, if it's something dangerous I could get us away quickly enough. Plus, it might be something in need of help.'_He turned and looked at Conner. _'Stay right behind me and try to be quiet.'_

"Got it."

Without another word, the Lucario dashed off to the left, yet not so quickly that the human boy couldn't keep up. More sounds of a struggle could be heard as they navigated the forest. After a short time, Ritter stopped behind a row of bushes and motioned for Conner to crouch down. They carefully crawled forward to get a view of what was going on. It turned out to be an overweight, teenage human with a bad case of acne, too busy yelling at a pair of fighting Pokémon to notice his observers.

"Come on Eevee! It's just a fucking Minccino! Hurry up and beat it dammit!" The angry trainer roared at his Pokémon. The Eevee was very young, probably having only recently left its parent's den. In short, it was no match for the Minccino. Nevertheless, it rushed forward to head-butt its opponent. The Minccino easily sidestepped the attack and delivered a light whack to the Eevee with its fluffy tail, knocking the poor creature on its face, causing its irate trainer to yell even more obscenities at his Pokémon. The Minccino had a look of deepest pity on its face. Before the its opponent could get up again, it turned and fled into the forest, possibly in the hope the Eevee's trainer would stop yelling at the Eevee.

"NOOO! You fucking idiot! You let the damn thing escape!" The teenager stomped over toward his dejected Pokémon, looking like he was about to pop a blood vessel. "You're a useless piece of shit! I can't believe I wasted my Greatball on you!" He punctuated each word with a hard kick to the Eevee's side, completely oblivious to the small creature's cries.

"That's enough!"

The teenager looked up to see Conner emerge from behind the bush, the light of barely controlled anger in his eyes.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"It doesn't matter who the hell I am. Stop hurting your Eevee, it's not its fault that you're a terrible trainer."

"What did you say? You shut the hell up or I'll kick your ass!"

Conner remained unfazed, replying coolly to the punk's threat, "I highly doubt that." He crossed his arms before continuing, "It's obvious you don't know the first thing about being a Pokémon trainer."

"Oh yeah? And how do you know that, you asshole?" the trainer said, jabbing a pudgy finger at Conner. "You don't even have any Pokémon on you!"

"I know a lot more about being a trainer than you think, you wretched waste of space. Trainers are supposed to be their Pokémon's friends. They're supposed to help them to get stronger, and to form a bond with them so that both trainer and Pokémon grow."

The vulgar boy was about to retort, but Conner cut him off. "But there's always ass-hats like you," the feeling of disgust Conner held for the trainer and his habits grew more and more apparent on his face. "Punks that only see their Pokémon as a tool; a way to earn money and be popular. I've seen boat loads of your type, and they're always the same, they never treat any living thing with any form of respect. They especially don't care about their Pokémon, they just treat them like they're pieces in a game, completely undermining everything it means to be a trainer." Conner glared unblinking into the teenager's eyes, "You people make me _sick_."

"Fuck you, faggot, you don't know nothin'. Besides, it's my damn Eevee, not yours, Why the hell should I care what your virgin ass cares? I can do whatever I damn well like to it!" The obese trainer aimed another kick at the cowering Pokémon to prove his point. Conner stepped forward to stop him, but Ritter was faster. In a blink he had rushed out from where he and was watching and grabbed the fat boy by the collar. The trainer yelped as his assailant yanked him down so the boy's pimply face was an inch from the Lucario's. The terror in the trainer's eyes was matched only by the disgust and anger in Ritter's.

'_No, you cannot.' _Ritter said, growling audibly. _'You are unfit to even speak of such matters.'_

The fat boy started to stammer something, whether more profanity or a plea of mercy is unknown as Ritter silenced him with a backhanded blow to the side of his head with his free paw. The Luciano made sure the hit was just light enough so that the spike on the back of his paw wouldn't kill the boy when it connected with his temple. With a groan, the foul-mouthed teenaged slumped over unconscious. Blood tricked down the side of his face.

"Did you kill him?" Conner asked without a hint of concern.

'_No,'_Ritter told him, releasing his hold on the trainer and allowing him to fall heavily to the ground. _'He should survive without any long-term injury, other than a lovely scar.'_

"A pity" Conner said only half-jokingly. He made an exasperated sigh before crouching down by the fallen trainer and began rummaging through the fanny pack he was wearing. Ritter watched him for a second, impressed with how Conner had stood up to the bully, before he turned to the whimpering Eevee, kneeling so they were close to the same level.

[Are you okay, little one?]

[I… I think I'll be okay. My chest feels like it's on fire though.] The young Pokémon coughed up a small amount of blood. It turned its head a bit to better look at Ritter. [What happened to my trainer?]

[He's unconscious, don't worry, he can't hurt you anymore.]

Despite the brutal way the trainer had treated his Eevee, the news elicited a small look of sadness form the small pokemon. [I know he was really mean, but will he be okay?]

Ritter gently ruffled the fur on the small fox's head. [Yes, he'll be fine, little one.] Conner looked over to where the two Pokémon were conversing, "I found a potion if the little guy's hurt." He said, not having understood what the two were saying to each other.

Ritter looked up at him, about to ask what potions were, but instead just said, _'I'll let you handle it.'_

He moved over to allow room for the boy, and watched as he sprayed the Eevee with some kind of pinkish liquid contained in small vial of sorts. Whatever it did, it seemed to make the Eevee feel better, as he soon was back on his feet looking as if he'd never been kicked at all.

"Vee! Eevee, ee!"

[Thanks! I feel much better now!] The little Pokémon said as he nuzzled Conner's hand. Ritter translated for him, causing Conner to laugh cheerfully.

"No problem little guy, I'm just glad to help." He scratched the little fox behind on of its large ears. "How'd you end up with that loser anyway?"

The Eevee spoke to Ritter, who in turn translated for Conner. _'He said he was captured a couple days ago, just an hour after leaving his family's den to find a new home.'_Ritter chuckled,_ 'He says the fool wasted 13 of those red balls humans carry around before he finally got him blue one.'_ That seemed to remind Conner of something. He reached behind him and showed them a just such a Pokéball.

"Is this it?"

The Eevee sniffed the out held Greatball. "Vee!" it replied.

Conner didn't need a translation for that. "Alright. So tell me, Eevee, do you want to stick around with this jerk?" The small Pokémon just stared at him before realizing what it had just been asked. It started hopping up and down, "Eevee-ing" excitedly. "Okay, calm down and I'll do that for you." Conner chuckled as he set the Greatball down in front of him before standing up. He raised his foot and brought it down hard on the Greatball. There was a loud crack as it's casing shattered, followed by a pop as its electronics shorted out. A soft ding could be heard from the trainer's pack as his Pokédex acknowledged the release of the Pokémon. "There ya go little guy, that jerk has no claim to you now."

The Eevee sniffed the remains of its former Pokéball, gentry prodding a large piece with its forepaw. He looked up at Conner smiling, [Thank you, Mister! I guess not all humans are bad after all.]

Conner grinned when Ritter told him what the Eevee had said. "You got somewhere to go now little guy, if not, your welcome to come with us." Ritter nodded with Conner's offer.

[Thank you, but my family's den is actually just about half a mile from here. I'll head back there for now.]

Ritter relayed this to Conner. "Alright, if that's what you want. Say could you point us toward a trail or something before you take off?"

[Oh yeah, sure! Just keep going that way for a little bit, you can't miss it,] the Eevee said, pointing its tail off to their left. [I've never been down it myself, but my dad says there's a small human settlement somewhere to the south.]

"Okay, thanks little guy, and good luck!"

The young Eevee wagged its tail and gave a single "Vee-ee!" before whipping around and running off through the underbrush. Ritter stood up and looked at Conner.

'_Well, that was quite an encounter._ Ready_ to look for that trail he talked about?'_

"I guess so. What should we do with this guy though?" Conner asked, prodding the inert fat-ass with his foot.

'_Does he have anything useful on him?'_

"Well, I found three Pokéballs, a couple chocolate bars, about P$1900, his Pokédex and that potion I used," Conner counted them off on his fingers as he said them. "…plus a bunch of napkins and a copy of Playtrainer." He blushed slightly as mentioned the last items.

'_Playtrainer?'_

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

Ritter shrugged, _'Alright. In any case, it doesn't sound like he has much that's too valuable or important,' (Even though I don't know what most of those things are,)_he thought to himself_,, (I really should ask him to brief me on his culture some time.) 'From what the Eevee told us, he's not so far out that he couldn't last until he got home, so I say we take it all, as punishment for his actions if nothing else.'_

Conner nodded, "Sounds good to me, I'll leave the Pokéballs and his Pokédex though, they wouldn't be anything but extra luggage anyway." With that, he began transferring the other boy's possessions to his bag. When he finished, he hefted the bag onto his back, grinning. "Alright, let's go."

The pair walked off in the direction the Eevee had shown them. After a bit, Ritter spoke up _'I was impressed with how you stood up for that Eevee. Not many creatures, human or Pokémon would have acted so passionately over a stranger. _

Conner shrugged his shoulder. "It was nothing. I just couldn't stand to see him beating his own Pokémon like that." He paused for a moment. "I've seen lots of people like that, but I would usually just keep my mouth shut. I told myself I walked by to keep Allie out of any more danger than was necessary, but I don't entirely buy that."

Ritter looked up at Conner, no expression on his feral face. _'Whatever the truth of your past is, it is obvious that you hold the well-being of others highly. That alone should bring you some solace.' _Conner nodded sheepishly, and Ritter spared him anymore feelings of awkwardness by questioning him about all of the weird human-things he'd mentioned earlier. Neither human nor Pokémon noticed the pair of glowing red eyes that watched them from atop a high tree branch. Quiet as a shadow, the observer leapt from its perch to the loamy forest floor. Gazing after the two, it pondered the odd pair before silently slipping off through the underbrush.


	4. 4: Darkness Incarnate

Chapter 4

The path had been easy to find, and was much larger than the two had expected; a car could have easily driven down it. The wide swath of open, level ground made for a nice change from the claustrophobic unevenness of the forest. The day was warm and the walk peaceful. Conner took the time to explain what the different "types" of Pokémon were to Ritter, who'd been curious about what they were. It ended up taking most of the afternoon.

'_So I would be a fighting/steel-type?'_

"Yep."

'_Which means I learn fighting and steel-type moves more easily and use them better than Pokémon of other types?"_

"Uh-huh."

'_And overall, I'd have an advantage when fighting steel, dark, rock, ice and normal-type Pokémon, but I'd be at a disadvantage against ground, fire and fighting types?'_

"You got it."

'_Huh.' _Neither spoke for a few moments as Ritter pondered this new information. _'How in Articuno's name do you remember all this?'_

Conner chuckled, "Eh, it just kinda sinks in after a while. Trust me, there's no way you could just sit down and learn all the strategy of Pokémon battles. There's way too much for that." He grinned as he continued: ""in Articuno's name," huh? Isn't Arceus supposed to be the god of Pokémon?"

'_Pfft, as if. Even if Arceus did create Pokémon, it wasn't all of them. And besides, I've actually witnessed Articuno's power first-hand. If I had a personal god, it would be her.' _

Conner looked at Ritter incredulously "You've actually _seen_ a legendary Pokémon?"

'_If you mean one of the Greater Ones, then yes, I have. Albeit not up close.'_

"Still, you managed to see one, that's pretty impressive in itself!"

'_I suppose so…'_ Ritter turned his head to watch a mother Farfetch'd herd her Fetch'd-lings through the forest. _'Articuno would be an ice type, right?' _he asked, implementing his new knowledge.

"Yeah, although she's probably a flying type too. No one knows anything for sure about the legendary Pokémon, so most of what we do have is guesswork." He turned and grinned at Ritter as they walked, "You seem to have gotten the basics of typing down at least, good job."

They continued their banter as they rounded a corner and were greeted by the sight an archway made of hewn logs. A wooden sign hung from the top with the words "Dancing Deerling Campground" expertly carved into it. About a dozen or so log cabins could be seen scattered behind it.

The travelers stopped in their tracks, observing the placed they'd found. Natural caution caused Ritter to tense up, but there were no immediate signs of life anywhere in the campground. Conner was the one to break the silence.

"It's probably a seasonal camp. Either that or it's just so small and remote that it isn't always inhabited." He stepped through the archway, Ritter stayed where he was, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Conner turned and gestured for him to follow. "Come on, we might as well look around. If nothing else, we should try to get into one of these cabins to spend the night."

Ritter glanced up at the sky. It would be getting dark shortly, they must have been walking longer than he'd thought. Forcing himself to relax, he stepped through the arch .

_'I'll look over there,'_ he said, gesturing toward the cabins to there right. _'If you find anything interesting call it out.'_

"Fair enough, we'll meet up back here." The Lucario nodded in understanding and they went off in there different directions.

So far, all the cabins Conner had checked were locked fast. Peering in the dark windows, he could make out that the cabins were sparsely, yet comfortably furnished. Sadly, he didn't see any videophones or computers that he could've used to contact the outside world. Then again, this was the kind of place people went to escape the outside world, so he shouldn't be too surprised. He noticed a second archway several yards ahead and to the left. It spanned a path similar to the one they'd traveled on heading what he imagined would be north. He'd be sure to mention it to Ritter later as it seemed the only other way out of the campground. The next cabin he came to was facing away from him. He walked around the front and was shocked to find motorcycle parked near the doorway. It didn't look like it had been there long, which meant that this cabin was probably occupied. He was about to go find Ritter, not wanting to call out in case the cabin's inhabitant was dangerous, when suddenly the door swung open. Conner tried to hide his shock as a tall man peered out at him. He wore a leather biker jacket with matching boots. A silver necklace with a pendant shaped like a stylized 'C' hung from his muscly neck. A large pink Mohawk stood up from his head.

After seeming to recognize what Conner was, he smiled and said, "Ah, it's just some kid." He stepped out of the cabin and leaned up against the doorjamb. "Trainer by the looks of it. What're you doing all the way out here dude?"

He seemed friendly enough. Still wary, Conner responded friendlily . "Well you're half right, I used to be a trainer. As for what I'm doing out here, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, so let's just say I'm lost."

The biker laughed, "Alright I'll go with that. Myself, I come out here every now and then get some fresh air and let my Pokémon run around somewhere that isn't overrun with humans." He scratched his chin as if pondering something. "If you really are lost, I'd be more than happy enough to give you a ride to the nearest town tomorrow. I'm about ready to take off anyway."

"That'd… that'd be great man, thanks!" Conner decided this guy must be alright after all. "One sec. I got someone traveling with me. Hey, Ritter! Com'ere!"

Night was nigh and Ritter was in a foul mood. It was bad enough that all these strange shelters were sealed, what was even more frustrating was that he'd finally found a human settlement… and there weren't any humans! _At least it's a start_, he thought to himself, a_nd hopefully Conner will find some way of contacting the outside so he could get home._

He stood in front of the door of one of the cabins, wishing he'd asked Conner how someone got in and out of these big wooden boxes, when he heard Conner shout. _Hopefully he found a shelter that was open so we could at least stay here tonight_. He weaved his way through a tight grouping of cabins toward Conner's voice and found him talking to another human who was much taller than Conner, although the absurd crest it had only made the difference seem so great. The man noticed him and turned to get a better look, mild surprise evident on his face.

"Whoa, a Lucario! Where the heck did you find one of those?" Ritter didn't quite catch what Conner said back as he was facing away from him. He made his way toward them, about halfway he noticed something glimmering around the man's neck. Upon studying it, he saw it was a shiny chain of sorts, with a circular shape hanging from it.

The shape gave him pause, he couldn't quite make it out from the light reflected off it, but it was making him uneasy for some reason. Alarms went off in is head as he struggled to make out what this strange thing was hanging from the man's neck. The stranger and Conner were still talking when a cloud drifted in front of the sun, causing the stranger's necklace to lose its glare. Then Ritter was able to recognize what the shape hanging from the necklace was. His hackles rose, it was _that_ shape.

_'GET AWAY FROM HIM!' _he yelled, Conner and the stranger bother reeled from the sudden telepathic assault. In a blink, Ritter covered the remaining ground between him and the man with that foul shape around his neck and drove his fist into the man's gut. He quickly followed up with his other paw and delivered a blow to the man's side that sent him flying. He hit the ground hard.

"Ritter! What the hell?" Conner yelled at his enraged companion.

'_That thing around his neck. Conner, he is not what he seems!' _

"YOU FLIPPIN' LIAR! You said you weren't a trainer!" The man was struggling to his feet. Ritter took up a fighting stance between the man and Conner, dark blue flames appeared around his paws. "And why the hell did you set him on me for? I said I woulda helped you!" The angry biker continued, still trying to get his breath back. "Well screw you, buddy," he said as he reached into his jacket, "Two can play this game!"

The biker whipped out a Pokéball that landed halfway between him and Ritter. It opened to reveal a Gengar, almost invisible in the dim light save for its glowing red eyes. The shadow Pokémon grinned evilly when it saw its quarry.

_Blast! _Ritter thought to himself. He didn't need to recall Conner's lecture earlier to know he would be able to hurt this thing, even an Aura Sphere wouldn't affect the ghost.

Conner noticed the Lucario's dilemma too. "Ritter just get out of here! I can manage myself."

Ritter knew full well that Conner was trying to protect him, but it was against his nature to save himself when others were in danger. He was about to tell Conner where he could shove his advice when the Gengar charged. Ritter braced himself for the attack, well aware that this was one fight he almost certainly would lose. The Gengar was almost on top of him, dark energy dancing around one of its hands, when suddenly a Shadow Ball caught it in the side and sent it sprawling.

"What the hell?" the irate biker yelled. Humans and Pokémon looked to where the attack had come from, but all they saw was the dark forest bathed in early moonlight. "Coward! Gengar, show our "guest" just who he's messing with!"

"Gengar!" the Pokémon replied before launching a powerful Dark Pulse into the forest.

There was a sound like someone scoffing, followed by a flurry of Shadow Balls hurting toward the ghost Pokémon. The Gengar's expression changed to one of terror before they slammed into it, sending the it flying in a graceful arc straight into the roof of a nearby cabin. The biker growled as he recalled his unconscious Pokémon. "You win this time you little punk. See if I ever offer anyone help again!" Ritter raised his paws as the biker ran towards them, but he skirted around them and hopped on his motorcycle. He started it and flipped them the Pidgey before tearing off into the night.

Conner let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. "You alright Ritter?" he asked.

'_Yes.' _is all he said, still in his fighting stance. He closed his eyes and relaxed a little. The furry appendages that hung from the back of his head stood up straight as a blue light softy swirled around him. After a minute, they fell limp again as Ritter opened his eyes. '_There looks like something is hiding in the underbrush over there,'_ He said, pointing at a gap in between two trees at the forest's edge. _'We can't let our guard down until we know what caused that attack, and whether it's friendly.'_ Conner nodded and they slowly crept toward the spot Ritter had indicated. Ritter stopped at the edge of the forest, straining to see anything in the dark woods, but Conner continued inward.

'_Conner wait..'_

"Hang on I think I see something." He said, before Ritter could finish. There was a hole in a bush a few feet in front of him, and, while impossible to tell in the darkness, it looked like a black shape was sitting in the middle of it. He got closer until he was inches from the hole in the bush, straining to make out the formless shape inside. Ritter was about to tell him to get back when a pair of bright red eyes snapped opened inches from Conner's.

He yelled and fell over backwards and as the dark blue flames around Ritter's paws flared. Everything was still for a moment. The disembodied eyes regarded the two before slowly floated forward. Conner scurried backward to get out of the way of… whatever it was. The thing's silhouette gradually became discernible, revealing in to be a foxlike creature of the pitchest black. When it stepped into the moonlight, yellow rings began to glow on its forehead and its large ears, as well as on its legs and tail.

"An Umbreon…" Conner said to no one in particular.

The Umbreon in question calmly sat down and quietly observed the pair with a look of mild disinterest, Conner managed to get back to his feet.

_'So, we meet at last.' _ a smooth, unfamiliar voice said in his head.

"What the…" Conner realized it must have been the Eevelution. "How did you do that? You're not a psychic Pokémon."

'_It's a lesser known ability that pure dark-type Pokémon have, the ability to hijack any local psychic communication channels that is' _

'_But I'm not using any kind of… psychic channel.' _Ritter said.

'_No, but your aura-related abilities are similar enough. …If not as refined.'_

Ignoring the jibe, he continued questioning the other Pokémon. _'Whatever, why are you here? Was it you who fired off all those attacks?'_

The Umbreon wrapped its tail around itself. _'Yes, I was the one that clobbered that Gengar for you. And that is also part of why am here at all.' _It continued,_ 'You two assisted a young Eevee earlier today who was in the possession of an abusive trainer, correct?'_

Ritter and Conner shared a glance, "Yes we did," Conner said hesitantly. "Did you know him or something?"

'_You could say that.' _ The Umbreon replied. _'Actually that Eevee was my nephew. My brother had seen the human who'd captured him and was rightfully concerned for his son's well-being. He asked me to keep an eye on them for a while to see if his fears were justified. As you two know,' He said, gesturing toward them with a nod, 'they were.' _

The Umbreon snarled as it continued, '_I saw how that punk treated my kin, and I was about to attack that ignoramus myself before you made your appearance, human.' _There wasn't anything unkind about how the Umbreon had said it, but being called "human" still didn't sit well with Conner.

"So, what? You were coming to thank us and decided to help us out?"

'_You are half right,' _the Eevelution conceded. _'You see, caught up with my nephew on his back to his family. After making sure he was alright, I escorted him the rest of the way. I told my brother what had happened when we arrived, he was surprised when I told him that it was a human and a Lucario that had intervened, however. _

The Pokémon's bright red eyes stared straight into Conner's. _'You must understand, human, there are very few of your kind that would have interceded with that abuse, let alone with the passion, or rather loathing you had for it.' _

The Umbreon sat back, taking up a posture that made him look almost regal.

'_My brother felt that such an outstanding individual deserved to be repaid for their benevolent actions, I agreed and volunteered to fulfill his debt for him. _

He turned back to Conner, 'From_ what I'd heard from my nephew, it seemed that you were lost and were searching for a way to reach a human settlement so that you can get home. So here I am. If you will have me, I would be happy to escort you to the closet town, and accompany you until you reach your ultimate destination.' _

Conner was surprised. "That's very generous of you, I live really long ways away though, I wouldn't want to take you so far from family."

'_Think nothing of it, our parents taught me and my siblings to always repay our debts. In any case, it will be nice to see some more of the world. _

Conner turned to Ritter and shrugged. "Sounds good to me I guess. I don't haveany reason not to believe you." He said, referring back to the Umbreon. "You have any issues Ritter?"

The Lucario had dropped the fighting stance, although he still looked wary. _'No, I don't see any reason not to have him. Another pair of eyes is always good anyway.'_

"Alright! Welcome aboard, uh…"

'_You may call me Xerxes.' _The Umbreon finished for him.

"Xerxes, huh? Cool. I'm Conner and this is Ritter." He said, gesturing to himself, then to his companion. "If there's nothing else to cover, than I'm going to go see what that biker guy's cabin has to offer, it's getting pretty late." With that, Conner turned and headed back to the still open building. Ritter was about to follow when a voice in his head stopped him.

'_I may not be able to read minds, Ritter, but I know you have ulterior motives for helping this boy than just concern for his safety.'_

Ritter turned back to look at the Umbreon. _'I'll grant you that, Xerxes was it? But it's nothing for you to be concerned about.'_

Xerxes stood up and coolly walked by Ritter. _'Fair enough, just let me warn you that you may want to share them with us soon.' _He paused at the door and looked back at Ritter with his piercing gaze. _'Otherwise, what trust Conner has for you will vanish if he finds out on his own, and you'll right back where you were before you met him.' _With that, the shadowy Pokémon disappeared through the doorway.

Ritter was thunderstruck. _ How could this guy possibly know all this? _he thought, _Could he really just be that good at reading into things? _This new companion of theirs did have a point however, while he did genuinely care for Conner's safety, he had to make sure that he didn't lose this chance he'd been given. Absentmindedly, he felt the necklace wrapped around his left wrist. He had a promise to keep.


	5. 5: Cause and Effect

Soft morning light shone through the ancient dusty window, filling the interior of the cabin with a warm and comforting glow. The cabin was sparsely furnished; containing a small cooking area, a couple cabinets and two beds, the building only being intended as a place to rest after a long day of enjoying the outdoors.

This is the scene Ritter awoke to. He lay in the bed directly under the window, eyes half open and listening to the sounds of different bird Pokémon heralding the new day. Slowly, he got up and sat on the edge of the bed, looking around at the cabin's inside as he let the stupor of sleep fade away. Such a shelter was novel to him; while some Pokémon build a sort of 'home' for themselves, he'd never seen or heard of anything this extravagant. He was particularly interested in the beds; in all his years, Ritter had rarely slept on anything softer than solid rock, this luxuriously soft bedding humans used was incredible to him. Part of his fascination came from the fact that something so soft was made solely for sleeping on, but mostly it was due to how much humans pampered themselves. He wasn't going to complain about it right now however. Seeing no sign of Conner or the Umbreon, Ritter stood up and made his way over to the part of the wall that opened, a door Conner had called it. It took a moment to remember how to operate the device that secured it, lacking opposable thumbs did little to help. Without much trouble, Ritter opened the door and stepped out into the cool morning air.

The world was peaceful in the early hours of the day. Though the forest seemed almost lifeless save for a breeze rustling the trees, the sounds of various Pokémon within beginning to stir reached Ritter's ears. He stood calmly on the front step, idly observing nature as he pondered where his companions had gone.

[About time you woke up.] A voice said close to Ritter. He turned his head to see the Umbreon, Xerxes he'd called himself, lying next to the step. Ritter noticed the Eevelution was well within the shade cast by the concrete step he was perched on.

[You could say that.] He replied nonchalantly. [How long've you two been awake?]

The Umbreon lay it's head on its forepaws, not bothering to look at the Lucario. [Well Conner got up just a bit before you did. As for myself, I don't sleep.]

[You're joking.]

[Not at all. Instead of having to sleep, the moonlight rests me for the following day.] The Umbreon twitched an ear to ward off some unseen nuisance. [Now if I was somewhere where the moonlight didn't reach me for long enough, then I would have to sleep. Hasn't happed yet though.] He eyed the edge of the shadow he lay in with disdain as it slowly shrank around him.

Ritter noticed. [What? You allergic to the sun or something?]

Xerxes shot him a disapproving look. [As a matter of fact, no, I'm not, smartass. The harshness and heat of the sun's rays just don't… agree with me.] He scooted back into the corner a bit, in order to delay the inevitable a bit longer.

Ritter smirked, [Yeah, alright then. So where'd Conner get off to anyway?]

[I believe he is at the northern exit.] Xerxes replied, eyes staring intently on the border of the shade. Ritter just chuckled and headed in the direction the Umbreon had indicated.

Conner was indeed at the northern exit of the campground. He sat with his back against one of the logs that made the archway, gazing down the road they'd be traveling. If he noticed Ritter approach, he gave no indication of it.

'_You ready to get going?'_ Ritter asked.

Conner looked up at the "sound" of his telepathy. "Oh, mornin' Ritter. Yeah we we're just waiting for you to wake up." He turned his attention back down the trail as if the Lucario wasn't there.

'_You could have just waked me up if you wanted to go. Honestly, I'm surprised you got up before me.'_

"Yeah well I wasn't very tired I guess." Conner replied curtly.

Ritter stood there awkwardly, wondering what was making Conner so unfriendly, when Xerxes stalked up behind them with a dour look on his face.

_'So are we ready to go now?'_ he asked no one in particular.

"Yeah, we are." Conner stood, flinging his bag over his shoulder. He set off down the trail, not waiting to see if the two Pokémon were following him. Ritter looked at Xerxes questioningly. The Umbreon just shrugged, an impressive feat for someone with only legs, and made to follow the young man, Ritter following soon after.

The trio was silent as they traveled; Conner walked a ways ahead of the other two. Ritter found it strange; he figure Xerxes wasn't much of one for idle chatting, but Conner had been much livelier in their previous saunters. After a few hours of walking, Ritter finally broke the silence.

[Just how far is this place anyway Xerxes?]__

'We still have a bit to go. I would imagine we're past the halfway point now however.' Ritter nodded in acknowledgement. The Umbreon traveled off to the side of the road, trying as much as possible to stay in the shade of the overhanging tree branches. Recalling his behavior earlier at the campground, he asked;

[You really don't like the sun, do you?]

Xerxes shot him a withering look. He realized he wasn't being mocked, however, and gave a nonchalant shrug.

[I guess you could say that. It's just that ever since I evolved I found any form of light other than moonlight to be… not quite irritating, just uncomfortable. I guess that's because the moon made me the way I am. Something I'm extremely grateful for.]

[Grateful?] Ritter asked. [Did you not think you would evolve or something?]

[Of course not, I would be astounded if I hadn't. Who's ever heard of a wild Eevee that didn't evolve?]

[Sorry,] Ritter said, looking slightly embarrassed. [In all honesty, I've lived on top of a mountain for most of my life. I don't know much about the world except for the small area where I was.]

[So you don't know about Eevee's and their evolutions?] Xerxes asked incredulously. [Did you even know what an Eevee _was?_]

[Well I did have… someone that I met once. They told me most of what I know about the world. Eevee came up once, although all that was said was that it was probably one of the strangest Pokémon in existence.] Ritter shrugged. [Other than that, my knowledge on your kind is limited. I did guess you were an evolved form of Eevee when I first saw you, however. So what did you mean when you mentioned being grateful for the moon making you the way you are? Are you some special kind of Umbreon because of it?]

Xerxes couldn't help a small laugh at this. [Wow, you really don't know much do you? Oh don't look like that, I'm not making fun of you… this time. As for your question, the best place to start would be to tell you that Eevee has more than one possible evolutionary outcome.]

[I have heard of that happening in some species. What's the other possibility?]

[Not 'possibility',] Xerxes replied, ['possibiliTIES'. Eevee's are able to evolve into seven different Pokémon.]

[_Seven_? Yeah, sure.] Ritter said skeptically.

[Believe what you want,] Xerxes said, giving him a hard look. [but my kind is famous for the variety in its growth. We're the only Pokémon with so many possible evolutions, could be the only one with more than two, to my knowledge.] Xerxes gained the air of someone giving a serious lecture as he continued. [Eevee can evolve into seven different Pokémon, as I said before. Three of them due to contact with an evolutionary stone, two more due to significant exposure to a certain time of day, and the final two from extended periods of time in specific environments. One of the latter two is Leafeon, a plant-type that occurs when an Eevee spends an excess amount of time in densely forested regions, such as the one we're in now.]

[I think I'm beginning to understand. So you didn't want to be a… Leafeon was it? Why not?]

[Well, there's nothing wrong with Leafeons, mind you. I just didn't like the idea of a massive leaf growing out of my forehead. Plus I've never really been "one with nature," you could say.]

Ritter tried to imagine Xerxes with just such a feature. He couldn't say he would have approved either. [Well, why not just try to trigger one of the other evolutions? You had plenty of options it sounds like.]

Xerxes snorted. [It's not that simple, Ritter. The three stones required for the first three possibilities are insanely rare in the wild. It's very uncommon to see a Flareon, Vaporeon or Jolteon in the wild, and the closet ice fields are several weeks trek from this forest. That leaves the two for being overly exposed to night or daytime, but the sun's or moon's rays must make prolonged contact with the Eevee for the evolution to work; something that's difficult to achieve under the forest canopy.]

[I see.] This whole conversation sounded ridiculously complicated to him. He was glad that Riolu didn't have so many factors that could influence their evolution. [So how exactly did you turn out this way if it's so hard for, the moon I guess, to shine directly on you?]

[Really, it was more of a fluke than anything. An Eevee can bypass the long exposure required to become an Umbreon or Espeon if they undergo a severe emotional change while bathed in the sun or moon's rays.] He looked at Ritter out of the corner of his eye. [Let's just say I happened to be in one of the scant clearings around here one night and something big happened and leave it at that.]

[Fair enough.] Ritter responded, catching the hint that the Umbreon didn't feel like sharing that part of his past. The Lucario could sympathize.

They kept walking for a while without further comment. During the entirety of their conversation, Connor had not even acknowledged the two Pokémon a short distance behind him. Ritter finally decided to mention the Donphan in the room.

[So what's up with him today?], gesturing toward the former trainer.

[Well, I couldn't tell you exactly. Although that thing I warned you about may have happened sooner than I anticipated. I don't know to what degree, or what it's even about, but this cold shoulder is certainly directed at you.]

[I figured as much.] Ritter replied, slightly frustrated. [About what though? I haven't done anything to make him not trust me.]

[It was most likely something done unintentionally or unknowingly. Something that he could have noticed or read into in a way you didn't expect.]

None of this sat well with Ritter. In truth, he needed Conner as nothing more than the means to an end. Still, he had grown to like the young human in the short time they'd known each other; and while Ritter had never really had a lot of friendships, he didn't want this one to go downhill over some misunderstanding. [I guess I'll have to go ask him then.]

Xerxes nodded sagely. [That is true, be careful though my friend; he may not look like it, but I have a feeling he could go off at the slightest provocation.]

[Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.] With that, Ritter picked up his pace to catch up with the former trainer. He maintained his distance a few feet behind Conner, who refused to acknowledge his presence.

'_Conner, what the heck is going on?'_ Ritter asked. Conner remained silent, keeping his focus on the trail ahead.

_'I've endured colder things then your shoulder, you know.'_

Conner let out an exasperated sigh. "What do you want Ritter?" he asked in an irritated manner.

_'I want to know what has you acting like a Combee flew up your rear.'_

"You." is all he said in response.

_'I gathered that. What specifically did I do, however?' _

Conner came to a halt. He turned to face the Lucario, frustration apparent. "It's that stunt you pulled yesterday; where you just randomly jumped that guy that I was talking to and provoked a fight."

Ritter blinked. _'Stunt? That guy was dangerous!'_

"He was going to help us! He offered of his own volition to give us a ride into town. Now thanks to you we have to walk who knows how far, not to mention that we could've gotten seriously hurt by that Gengar if Xerxes hadn't showed up!"

'_Didn't you see that thing hanging around his neck?'_ Ritter asked incredulously.

"Yeah I saw his necklace. What about it? Was it some kind of bomb or something?" Conner snapped sarcastically.

'_A... bomb? What's a…' _Ritter shook his head, _'Never mind. You really don't know who that man was? _What_ he was?'  
_

"He was a nice guy that offered to take us to where we needed to go, until he was attacked by a loose-cannon Lucario."

'_Conner, you have no idea what that man was…'_ Ritter said slowly and carefully.

"Then why don't you tell me?" Conner interrupted, anger now plain on his face. "Why not explain everything while you're at it? I know you're not being transparent with me about a lot of things!" He said jabbing a finger at the Pokémon. "Like if you've never met a human before, then where the hell did you get that bracelet, huh? What else are you lying about?" They both just looked at each other for a while, the last remark causing a hard look to appear on Ritter's face. Xerxes, who had caught up with the two sometime before, lay in the shade by the side of the road, praying that the two would hurry and get their squabbling over with so they could continue soon. Conner dropped his hand and his gaze letting out a tired sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's not my place to ask about your past. It's just that when what I don't know could prove a hindrance down the road, I understandably get a little defensive."

Ritter still maintained his scowl for a few moments, but finally relented.

_'I haven't been upfront about everything, you're right, but I assure you it's nothing that would put you in danger. I didn't want to burden you with my troubles. Besides,'_ he paused briefly, averting his eyes, _'I wasn't sure you'd want much to do with me if you knew my motives.'_

Conner looked at Ritter quizzically, the majority of his frustration replaced by confused curiosity. Ritter answered the question he was forming in his mind.

_'I will tell you some of the truth, enough to sate your mistrust, but not right now. Will that suffice?'_

Xerxes barged between the two before a reply could be made. _'Finally! I thought you two would be gossiping all day!'_ he said as he continued down the trail. Human and Pokémon looked after the retreating Umbreon before exchanging looks.

"Yeah, that'll be fine Ritter. C'mon, we can't let Grouchy get too far ahead."

Ritter chuckled audibly as he and Conner set off after their companion, the unfriendly atmosphere entirely forgotten.


	6. 6: Just Getting Started

The mood was much lighter as the trio continued their journey down the forest path. Conner was back to his usual self, chatting idly as they walked. They made good progress, choosing to grab what food they could find close to the trail as opposed to stopping for an actual meal. It was only a few hours after midday when the forest started thinning out, soon ending entirely. The three found themselves standing at the top of a sharp decline in the earth composed of a long stretch of loose sandy soil.

Ritter and Conner both couldn't help but be impressed by the view their vantage point afforded them. The steep gradient they found themselves atop stretched out in both directions before being capped at both ends by rocky cliffs, the forest crowning the top the entire length. Below was a sort of valley, filled with lush green meadows that reached out to the mountains on the distant horizon. The view was dominated though by a good-sized town that sat a few yards from the base of the slope below them. The town seemed alive and bursting with activity, not surprising, as it seemed a crossroads of sorts, judging from the many roads that spread out from it.

'_Quite a view, isn't it?'_ Xerxes asked, interrupting the two's contemplating.

"Absolutely." Conner replied, "I've seen lots of cool sights before, but this is definitely one of the better ones. You ever seen anything like this Ritter?"

_'In a manner of speaking.'_ He answered neutrally. Living atop and near mountain peaks had allowed the Lucario fantastic views on clear days. He actually thought he recognized the current scene as seen from another, much higher and distant angle.

What truly awed him was the town; he'd never seen a human settlement as anything other than a grey blot on the landscape. Up close was completely different, the strange boxy structures in all colors and sizes between which stone channels twisted, it was all completely alien to him. He felt a mixture of anxiety and eagerness to walk amongst what was the largest amount of living beings he'd ever seen before in the bizarre, unnatural maze.

[It is strange to look upon for the first time, isn't it? Almost frightening, really.] Xerxes said privately to Ritter. Not waiting for response, he continued so Conner could 'hear', _'Well, standing here and gawking at it all day won't get us any closer.' _He flicked his tail at the trail that wound down the sandy embankment, indicating the path they should take.

"Couldn't agree more." Conner replied. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Without a glance back, he jumped over the edge of the decline, completely ignoring the path, and began sliding on the soles of his feet rapidly down the sandy slope.

Looks of horrified shock covered both Pokémon's faces. _'Are you insane?!' _Xerxes called after Conner, but the young man was already too far away to hear the short-range telepathy.

[Well I guess there's nothing for it.] Ritter said before leaping after the boy. Xerxes was exasperated at his companions' rashness, but after some grumbling about "idiocy" and "behaving like newborn pups" he plunged after his quickly descending companions.

The sand kicking up around him, Ritter found it difficult, but he managed to stay upright on the constantly changing surface. His wobbly stance was nowhere near as efficient as Conner's, who seemed completely at home on the sandy embankment. The former trainer turned his head back and laughed happily to see the Pokémon trying to mimic him.

"Keep it up Ritter! You're doing great!" He hollered. Ritter wasn't sure if 'great' was the right word, but he managed to reach the bottom without falling or getting to much sand in his face. Conner was waiting for him when he stumbled back onto level ground.

"Way to go man! You're a natural!" Conner exclaimed, eliciting a small smile from the lucario as he tried to regain his composure.

_'Not bad for a first-timer then, I take it?'_Before either could say anything further, Ritter was bowled over by a flurry of sand and a tumbling umbreon. Conner laughed good humoredly as the Lucario tried to pull themselves apart.

_'Sliding like that,' _Xerxes said, spitting out dirt, _'is not something that a four legged creature should attempt. Or any creature for that matter.' _He grumbled, glaring at the other two. _'I'm not sure which of you two is the greater idiot.'_

"Ah, you're just mad because you couldn't manage to stay up." Conner teased.

The umbreon huffed, _'Well in any case, I have you to thank for how familiar I'll be with what the ground tastes like when I try to wash this stuff out of my fur.'_ He pulled himself upright and shook himself to get rid of most of the offending sand. _'I'm afraid my navigational knowledge has reached it end. Lead on when you feel ready human, as long as you plan to stay _on _the road from now on._

Conner grinned, "Well you don't have to worry much in that regard, parkour isn't really one of my strong suits."

The Pokémon both looked confusedly at Conner. _'Par-what?' _ Ritter asked.

"Never mind. Come on, let's see if we can find somewhere to stay." Ritter and Xerxes followed as he crossed the final stretch between themselves and the outskirts of town.

'_So where did you learn to do that back there? The sliding I mean.' _Ritter asked.

"Well, when I was touring around as a trainer, there were all kinds of places me and Allie would stop for a while. One was a small town, way smaller than this one here, which was near a beach. There were tons of huge sand dunes there, and the local kids and their Pokémon would slide down them for fun, sometimes with just their feet, and sometimes they'd use specially made boards to skim down the dunes. It was crazy how fast you could get going on one of those things! "

"Anyways, a couple of them managed to convince me to try it myself." He chucked, "Eventually I was able to get all the way down without ending up like Xerxes; it was tons of fun. Allie actually tried it a few times too. She never had much luck, but you could tell she was having a great time." A shadow of grief passed over Conner's face as he thought about his recently fallen jolteon.

_'Well, I'm not sure if 'natural' would describe that performance I gave,' _Ritter said, steering Conner away from thoughts of his old friend,_ 'but it certainly was fun in a way, almost felt as if I was knuckle-headed Riolu again.'_

Conner smiled at that. "Glad to hear someone enjoyed it at least." he said. "Although I didn't know you were only knuckle-headed before you evolved, I could've swore you still were."

'_Oh shut up.'_ Ritter retorted good naturedly, rapping Conner on the shoulder.

They kept talking as they walked through part of the residential section of town, Xerxes following wordlessly behind. Ritter kept finding himself distracted by the surroundings, however. The uniformity of the street layout, the unnaturally green short grass, the foreign and occasionally disgusting smells in the air; the novelty of it all was too engrossing for the Lucario.

Gradually, the houses gave way to commercial buildings, and soon the three found themselves right at the heart of town. The foot traffic increased dramatically, people rushed in all directions on their own private errands, some with Pokémon along either for assistance with what they were doing, or just for the sake of company.

Ritter had a difficult time trying to make sense of this perceived madness. Xerxes didn't seem as bothered, but he stayed close to the other two so as not to get stepped on. Most passersby just ignored them, but Ritter caught several people watching him with odd looks on their faces. The whole situation was unnerving to say the least.

_'Conner, why are all these people staring at me?' _the lucario finally asked, barely avoiding being trampled by a load bearing machoke.

Thankfully, telepathy wasn't hindered by background noise, so Conner heard him clearly. "Huh? Oh, well Lucario are really rare Pokémon, I doubt many of these people have ever seen a real one." Inwardly, he cursed himself for not thinking about that before they dove right into the middle of everyone.

He had to admit, the number of people running around for a town this size surprised him. Thankfully, he finally spotted the place he was looking for so they could leave the bustling streets behind. "Come on guys, the Pokécenter is right over there."

The trio weaved there way over to a large square-ish building with a bright red roof and bearing a large depiction of a similarly colored Pokéball on the front. The first floor's façade was composed almost entirely of floor to ceiling windows, with a set of automatic sliding doors in the center.

The interior was cool, and although busy, it was nothing close to the chaos outside. Trainers and their Pokémon, all in various states of health, were scattered across the spacious room, with most of the patrons crowded near a counter directly opposite the doors. Deciding to see if the line would die down, Conner led the group to a seating area near the front of the building. He flopped down in a plush armchair facing towards the wall of glass that separated them from outside, with Ritter choosing an adjacent couch and Xerxes curling up next to him.

'_So is this where we're staying then?' _Xerxes inquired after getting settled in.

"Maybe, Pokécenters usually have rooms for rent. Although judging from the insanity outside I'm skeptical we can find a room here. Whew…" he paused for a breath. "Geez, it's crazy out there." Conner said, propping his legs up on the coffee table in front of him.

'_Are human settlements always this hectic?'_ Ritter asked as he continued to marvel at how soft and comfy human furnishings were.

Xerxes spoke up in response, _'I don't believe so. I've watched the town a few times before and there was never so much activity as today.'_

"Yeah, something must be going on for all these people to be hanging around…" Conner said. He twisted around in his seat, searching for someone that might shed some light on the situation. "Hey! Miss," he called out, getting the attention of a girl on her way outside. "You got a moment?"

She was a tall, just an inch or so more than Conner, and about his age. As she turned to regard him, her long, thick, blonde Ponyta-tail swung wide. Her attire suggested she was a traveler, but why anyone would want to hike around covered head to toe in black was beyond Conner. After a moment's hesitation she walked over to Conner, a wary look in her grey eyes. "Yes?" she asked.

"I was just wondering if you knew why there were so many people running around town. We just got here, and were surprised to find such a huge crowd."

The girl's expression softened a bit when she realized Conner wasn't trying to flirt. "Oh, right. Yeah, there was a huge festival here for the past few days and it just ended yesterday. The people are just taking their time going home is all; usually it's pretty quiet around here."

"Ah, that makes sense." The boy nodded. "So do you live around here, or...?"

She gave a small laugh and waved her hand dismissively. "No I've just been in the area for a while. I've actually been meaning to move on soon…" She looked up, noticing the Pokémon on the couch for the first time. "Is that a lucario?!"

Without warning, she leapt over Conner's outstretched legs so that she was directly in front of Ritter, startling the others in the process. She crouched down slightly so as to get the best view of her quarry. The lucario in question managed not to reflexively belt the girl across the face.

"Uh, yeah that's Ritter. I just found him recently." Conner managed to say.

"Wow…" the girl said under her breath, completely enraptured by the Pokémon in front of her, eyes drinking in every detail. Eventually, the awkwardness of the situation dawned on her and she hurriedly stood up, blushing.

"Sorry about that. I've just always been fascinated by lucario as a species. I never thought I'd actually get to meet one though." She said apologetically to Conner and Ritter both. "I-I'll just be going. Sorry about that."

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not every day you see something as awesome as this guy, let alone one with as cool a trainer as me" Conner said with mock-arrogance. She smiled thankfully, suppressing a small laugh and made her way over to the door.  
Before she left Conner thought of one last question. "Hey, you mentioned that the place is over flowing with tourists right? Would you know if there's still a free room here?"

She paused with her hand on the door, twisting around to reply. "I wouldn't bet on it, but there's a nice hotel a few blocks north of here with a decent rate. I just checked out so you should be able to find a vacancy."

"That'll probably work, thanks." Conner said, waving. The girl smiled prettily before making her way through the door. Conner leaved back in his chair and stretched, not saying anything immediately. Eventually, he noticed that Ritter had been giving him an… odd… look. He "spoke" before the human could ask;

_'Trainer?'_

"Oh yeah, about that," Conner replied sheepishly, hand on the back of his head. "It's not common at all for Pokémon to travel around with a human unless they're a trainer. In fact," he said, an inquisitive look on his face, "I've never even heard of it. Anyway," he said, emphasizing the last word with a shrug, "I just thought it would cause a lot less questions if we just posed as if you two were Pokémon I was training."

Ritter looked slightly uncomfortable with the idea, but Xerxes just rested his head on the couch cushion, eyes half closed. _'Makes sense to me, I see no reason not to go along with it.'_

The lucario still looked unconvinced. "Look Ritter," Conner said, trying to put him at ease, "nothing will change except how we act around other people. I won't try to catch you guys, I won't make you battle, and you're both free to leave whenever you want."

_'Well… I'm not entirely happy about it, but it makes sense to me.' _Ritter said as he mulled it over. _'Ugh, fine. I'll just have to get used to the idea.'_

"You sure?" the boy asked.

_'Yes.' _The aura pokémon declared resolutely_. 'All of this is going very differently than what I had imagined, needless to say it's unsettling.' _

"All right, if you say so." The young man replied, The three sat lost in their own thoughts for a while, Xerxes looking to almost be asleep.

_'So, are we going to go find this 'ho-tell'?'_Ritter finally asked.

"Eh, everyone's on their way out of town it sounds like, so I doubt someone would get that room the girl told us about before us, we can relax a bit first.

'_She was cute, huh Conner?'_ Xerxes said, making the boy jump,

"What?! Shut up Xerxes!"

The umbreon turned his head to look at him. _'So she wasn't cute then?'_

"Huh? No! I mean yeah she was alright to look at, but it's not how you're thinking!"

Xerxes wore a smug look, quite pleased that he'd managed to get Conner's goat so easily. _'Whatever you say, lover-boy.'_

"Oh what do you know you jerk, I wasn't interested in her in the least." Conner retorted, trying vainly to hide his embarrassment.

_'Which must be why you kept sneaking looks at her chest.' _Xerxes said in return.

Soon, many of the customers in the Pokémon Center noticed a sudden commotion near the front of the building, finding the source to be a trainer yelling irately at a smug looking umbreon, and a hysterical lucario. While some continued to gawk, most of the onlookers eventually turned away, and continued with their business, the angry words and harsh, bark-like laugh of the lucario the only indication of the spectacle going on behind them.

* * *

A/N: Looks like Christmas has come early! Well, I guess I can't speak for you, good reader, but for me at least I can finally get past this damned chapter. Hopefully all of the stalling was worth it, and even more so, hopefully it won't be a common theme in how often I update. (for your sakes as well as mine!)


	7. 7: A Pact at Dinner

Predictably, the trio was not immune to frenziedness of the packed town. They'd managed to get the hotel room the girl had mentioned, but they'd literally had to race someone else there who was in a similar position. It was quite the spectacle for tourists and locals alike; it's not every day you see a young trainer and his Pokémon sprinting to stay ahead of an obese man riding an surprisingly fleet-footed Rhydon. The younger and larger group had managed to reach the hotel's reception desk first, however, leaving the fat man to grumble about sleeping in the park again as his steed lumbered back the way they'd came.

That wasn't the end of the day's excitement for the group though. Conner had asked if he could use the hotel's video-phone, intending to let his family know that he was alright; they'd almost certainly heard about his flight going down in the wilderness. The receptionist just shrugged apologetically as he informed him that over the course of the recent festival, some drunkards had started a little pow-wow outside the telecommunications hub for the town. They hadn't really harmed anyone though, at least not until a pickled Electivire fried the entire comms building.

In short, no, he could not use the video-phone. Conner thanked the man anyway, and decided to head to the police station to see if they would let him on the shortwave radio he knew most law enforcement stations kept in case of emergency. Of course, the police weren't going to let some kid use their "specialized and very expensive" equipment just so he could call his mommy. He explained that he'd been on an international flight that had gone down in the nearby mountains, and wanted to make sure his mother and sister knew he was alright. After convincing them it wasn't a joke, the officers jumped on him with all kinds of questions regarding the crash, as so far no one knew anything but that the flight had never arrived at its destination.

Conner complied the best he could; it wasn't like he could just turn around and leave anyway. Eventually, he'd gotten through with describing the crash ("It was terrifying"), attempting to give the location of the wreckage ("somewhere in the mountains?"), if anyone else had made it ("I don't know…") and several other questions which received answers that had Ritter and Xerxes rolling their eyes at how useless they were. Just as the police begrudgingly thanked him for his time, a reporter form the local media, camera-Machoke in tow, burst through the door _demanding_ that she speak with the survivor of mysterious plane crash.

The haughty woman had no sooner spotted Conner, when another news crew came through the door. Followed by another. And another. They'd descended on Conner, and by extension the Pokémon with him, like a pack of rabid Mightyenas, bombarding him with questions and flashes from cameras. Ritter looked about ready to start punching his way out of the cramped circle when Conner asked him to get them out of there. The Lucario grabbed his wrist and with the help of some angry snarls, the press of reporters was shoved aside by the young man and the 3 foot tall jackal, with Xerxes slipping unnoticed between the forest of legs.

They're advance was staggered when they got outside by a combined assault of light and sound as more news reporters who'd yet to storm the police station trained their lenses and recording devices on the figures emerging from inside, as well as a sizable crowd that had gathered to see what the commotion was about. Conner'd no sooner managed to raise his hand to block the offending flashes and glaring stage lights that had been erected then he found a swath of microphones inches from his face. He could barely make out being asked everything from a description of the event, to if it was true that the survivors had resorted to cannibalism to stay alive, to whether or not his Lucario was the one that had recently been stolen from a certain baroness in Hoenn known for how much she "loved" her menagerie of exotic Pokémon.

Xerxes finally got fed up with it all and told Ritter to do something so they could leave. What the Lucario did was hardly what the dignified night-stalker had in mind; without warning him, Ritter picked Conner up and slung him over his shoulder, grabbed Xerxes' tail with his free paw, and cleared the crowd with a series of strategic leaps off of nearby infrastructure. Despite Xerxes howling to let go of him before Ritter had his eyes gouged out, the rugged fighter didn't stop to let his load down as he leapt across the rooftops toward what he hoped was the edge of town.

They passed through one part that seemed entirely out of place for the middle of a city; Ritter couldn't help but ponder why on earth humans would so vigorously conform the land to their desires only to allow nature to thrive in this arbitrary spot. At one point, Conner threw the key to their hotel room to a certain fat man and his stony rhino lounging under a nearby tree, hollering "It's all yours!" as they breezed by.

Apart from some spry youths with equally agile Pokémon racing alongside the group for a bit, the dash along the rooftops was largely uneventful. Their high-speed flight finally ended several yards north of the city limits. Ritter'd no sooner set his companions back on terra firma when he was bowled over by an angry black blur. Xerxes proceeded to swat violently at Ritter's head from his perch on the larger canine's back, yelling furiously about seeing how he'd like being drug by his tail for an hour. He didn't use his claws, however, and ended his barrage by stiffly hopping down from his position, taking time for a single slap across his victim's face with his tail before he stalked disconcertedly under a nearby bush.

Ritter sat up haggardly and rubbed his head where he'd weathered the Umbreon's assault. He glanced over at Conner, who sat equally disheveled and simply said _'I never want to go to a human settlement again.' _

Conner managed a weak grin. "Right now, I completely agree with you."

Now, roughly ten days, and several miles northward later, the three travelers sat around their fire as the sun sank into the distant horizon. Xerxes said he'd forgiven Ritter, but he still refused to sit on the same side of Conner as him. Ritter wasn't unduly bothered however, and gnawed contentedly on the femur of the Dodrio he'd brought down for their meal as Conner was taking inventory.

He still wasn't sure why he'd brought his travelling gear with him to Allie's funeral; he assumed it was a combination of habit and being in a daze at the time. Pushing the sorrowful thoughts from his mind, he was simply grateful he had his survival gear on him. He laid out his gear around him and looked it all over once more. It consisted of:

-Thermal clothing, which was light, yet made a great difference in rain or snow.  
-A trench shovel.

-A worn bowie knife and whetstone.  
-His lighter and a large case of spare fluid.

-Some spare clothing.  
-A basic trauma kit, which he'd had to reorganize after Ritter's attempt at binding his wounds when they'd met.  
-A thick notebook that he sketched and wrote in in his spare time.  
-P$5700 counting the 300 he'd taken from the abusive lard.

-One of said lard's chocolate bars. (It would have been two, if Xerxes hadn't discovered his fondness for it)

He also had a sleeping bag for cool nights, a battered cooking kit, and gear to erect a lean-to that were kept in individual item capsules to save room. The only things missing were trail food; he hadn't bothered to restock for the trip to Greenfield, and his Pokénav, which had been the only thing damaged in the crash. That wasn't really what it had been called; it was just a high-tech GPS he'd gotten for his 15th birthday, he'd just borrowed the name from the device being developed by the Devon Corporation in Hoenn for reasons he could not recall.

Conner huffed, still irked that the single most useful item he'd had after the crash had been the ONLY thing to be damaged. He decided against wallowing in frustration over the cosmic forces, and began to regret not having chance to stock food in the town while they were there. Ritter was more than willing and capable to bring in enough food for the three to share, but it was always a good idea to have reserves.

Now that he thought about it, Conner had no idea what that crazy town had been called. He would have pondered it further were his thoughts not interrupted by a loud crack. He looked up to see Ritter had finally managed to crack open the bone he'd been chewing on and was busy sucking the marrow out of its calcium-rich home. Conner turned back to his gear, mulling over something in his head as he picked up his knife and drew it from its sheath. Deciding it was a bit dull, he began the process of sharpening it.

"You said you'd fill us in a bit on your past right?" He addressed the Lucario without looking up from his work. Ritter froze as he was licking the interior of his bone to look at Conner, and Xerxes' ears perk up although he neglected to uncurl from his current position. Uninterrupted, the ex-trainer continued; "You know, so we'd understand what made you flip out on that guy that was offering us help?"

There was nothing bitter in Conner's words, he was just being frank. Ritter removed his tongue from his treat and altered his gaze from the human to the broken femur.

'_I did.' _He said simply. He the only sound for a while was the crackling of the flames and the sound of the whetstone gliding across Conner's knife as Ritter pondered what to say next.

Misconstruing the Pokémon's silence, Conner replied, "If you don't want to yet, that's fine. Just thought I'd mention it."

_'No, no, it's fine.'_ Ritter said, tossing the bone over his shoulder _'I may as well tell you two now. I'm just not sure what to say.'_

Conner nodded, still refraining from looking up, indicating that he should take his time.

_'You're probably aware that I have other motives for travelling with you than just concern for your safety,'_ the Pokémon began. _'So it shouldn't surprise you to know I didn't live near where I met you. I actually lived atop a peak about two days in the direction the sun rises from there. It was a quiet life. Nothing happened outside of the things necessary for survival. It was just myself, my mate, and the pup we shared. They were all I had, but it was enough for me.'_

'_You saw that emblem the man wore around his neck that day?' _Ritter asked, not waiting for an answer._ 'I have seen it one other time, but it was far from a joyous event.' _He folded his arms before he elaborated. _'The peak we lived on had been battered by a fierce blizzard, and for several days my family stayed in our den while we waited for the storm to pass. My mate and I could last for a while without food, but our pup was not yet so hardened and was well past the age to be drinking milk. Not being able to bear my child being hungry, I convinced my mate that I should risk the storm to hunt, and set out into the snow to bring my family much needed food.'_

'For a whole day I found nothing; there was little else foolish or desperate enough to brave the blizzard. Finally, I found a Pillowswine that was about to die from exposure. So glad that I had finally found at least some form of food, I rushed in to kill the creature, completely oblivious to the Mamoswine through the blinding snow. It was furious over the slaughter of its calf, and though I managed to best it, the ensuing fight left me heavily wounded and only able to use my left arm.'

'_Regardless, I managed to haul the Pillowswine's carcass back to our den. It was a grueling journey that by rights should have killed me given the weather, but a lull in the storm made the last leg possible. My mate and pup rushed out to me as I collapsed outside the den. So wrapped up were we in the reunion that it took us a while to notice the rabid throbbing in the air that was steadily growing closer.'_

'_When we did, we looked up to see some strange Pokémon we'd never seen before. It was a dark grey, and had a bulbous body with multiple wings that _spun_on top of its body. At one point it seemed to spot us, and diverted its course towards us. My mate had been a trained Pokémon at one point, and recognized the strange beast as a human creation. It was pointless to flee, especially giving my injured state, so we simply watched as it drew near.'_

Ritter unconsciously drew his arms in tighter. _'The sound of the thing's wings thrashing the air rose to a deafening roar by the time it positioned itself over our peak. It spun so its flank faced us, and I remember seeing the same shape as the man's emblem emblazoned in black on the dark grey side of the beast. Suddenly the side slid open and the thing lowered itself to low enough so that the men standing inside could step onto the snowy ground.' _

'_There were three them; they all wore similar garments, and they all had the same emblem somewhere on them. The one that was obviously the leader though, had more distinctive clothes than the others, and sported a bare head and a large mass of dark gray fur under his nose. Somehow over the noise of their transport, I could hear him shout something to the other men about how "being stuck out in the mountains for a week paid off."'_

'_My mate was not as gifted with the Aura as I am, and I was in no state to inquire their intentions. They made them clear soon enough.' _Ritter said bitterly. _'The leader said to "grab the young one, as one parent was looked weak and the other wouldn't last the night."'_

'_Without warning, the man at his right threw out a black orb, a black and yellow Pokéball, and snatched our pup right out of my mate's arms. We were both stunned at how sudden everything happened, and didn't immediately react as the men started to step back into the flying thing. My mate sprung up first, I tried to follow, but my legs refused to support me. She flew at them an enraged howl , I could see the bloodlust in her eyes, no other thought in her mind than to rescue our child and destroy the interlopers.'_

'She never even made it halfway.'

Ritter said, his mental voice breaking. _'The leader turned to face my mate, drawing a silver device. There was a bang loud enough to drown out the whirring transport, a flash of light, and my mate crumpled to the snow, blood gushing from a largewhole that pierced her upper body.'_

_'I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.' _

_'She was dead.' _He put a paw around the necklace wrapped around his wrist.

_'And the bastard responsible had stolen my,_

_our, child.'_

'I made another attempt to lunge at the monsters, uncaring if I died as well, but my body betrayed my again and I fell into the snow in immense pain. The man looked as if he was about to finish me off in the same way he slew my mate but the snowstorm suddenly reappeared and a man yelled from inside that "

it_ was back." The leader simply replaced his silver death-bringer, and told me not to waste my time before stepping into the metal beast and its side sliding shut after him.'_

Ritter paused, his eyes moist. He took a deep breath before continuing.

'_I could only watch as the thing slowly ascended before flying off at a much greater speed than before as the blizzard grew in intensity around me. I could feel myself growing faint, and let myself collapse in the snow, not even having the energy to drag myself over to my mate's corpse. The last thing I remember was a massive blue eagle flying overhead in the direction the men went, screaming a battle cry.'_

'_When I came to, the blizzard had dwindled to a gentle snowfall, almost as if frozen tears were drifting down from the sky. When I had the strength, I buried my mate the best I could, promising that I would avenge her and our pup; our dear, sweet daughter. It took months to get back into fighting condition. Finally, I set off from my home and began searching for a human settlement in hopes I could learn more of the group that had destroyed my family.'_

'Two days in and there was a horrible storm. I bunkered down in a cave to wait it out, when I heard a whining noise coming from the sky. It grew incredibly loud and ended with a loud crash somewhere near the cave I was in. Curiosity got the better of me, and that's how I ended up finding you about to be tore apart by an angry Aggron.'

Ritter said, directed at Conner.

Finished, he sat in silence for a few moments before he could bring himself to look at his audience. When he finally did look up, he found that Conner had long since stopped sharpening his knife and was watching him sorrowfully. Even Xerxes was looking at him with a pitying gaze. The sun had vanished at this point, and only the dying fire illuminated the gloomy scene.

"Ritter…" Conner started, unsure just what to say to what he'd just heard. "Ritter, I am so sorry."

The Lucario just turned to gaze into the fire, his mental voice flat. _'Sorry, won't bring them back.'_

"I know. While I can't say I completely understand what you're going through, I too had to watch helplessly as my oldest and closest friend was murdered at the hands of cruel men. And I know," he added, "that even though the last thing you want is for everyone to say how sorry they are, that it's good to know that someone truly cares."

Ritter looked up at the young human, who gave him a weak smile. "I know we've only known each other for under a month, but believe me when I say I that I have nothing but sympathy for you and your… quest is what it would be, I guess. In fact, I want to help you out. I don't know anything about these thugs you mentioned, but I can help you figure out who they are, and hopefully take them down."

Ritter just stared at him, his face showing disbelief. _'Are you sure? What about getting home? Would you really just drop everything because of my sob story?'_

"Nothing angers me more than injustice, especially to my friends. This… this is just insane, what you're talking about, and I'm willing to bet these goons, whoever they are, have caused way more suffering than either of us want to imagine." Conner grinned warmly at the Lucario. "And if nothing else, I owe you for saving my ass from not only an Aggron, but the paparazzi. If you'll have me, I'll do what I can to make sure these guys get justice."

_'That goes for me as well,' _added Xerxes telepathically so Conner could hear. _'I said I would help you with your endeavors for saving my kin, and while I wasn't expecting anything of this magnitude, I stand by my word.' _ The black foxlike creature arose and walked closer to the blue jackal. _And I suppose I never thanked you from getting us away from that mob. If you really need any other reason for my support, use that.' _He said in a rare tone without a hint of sarcasm or arrogance.

"Looks like you're stuck with us buddy," Conner said, sticking out his hand palm-down. "Together, we're gonna find those guys, and rip them a new one for what they've done!"

Xerxes placed a paw on top of Conner's hand and looked pointedly at Ritter. Ritter himself looked unsure for a moment, utterly astounded at selflessness of the Umbreon and the human who called him friend.

_'Alright,' _he finally "said", smiling as he placed a large, spiked paw on Xerxes' and Conner's. _'Thank you my friends. We'll do this. Together.'_


End file.
